The Land Warrior wearable military smartphone rig - one of the few of its type to have seen combat service in large numbers - continues to rise from its ashes, having been officially cancelled in 2007. However, the kit is now in service in Afghanistan, and makers General Dynamics have just announced a $50m tech-support deal from …

Said this before, but...

Seems as though it's an example of procurement that's more or less worked; not in the way originally intended, sure, but it's worked. Hope it carries on working and keeps 'em safer as a result. Now, can we get this article printed onto a concrete slab and beat the MoD over the head with it, please?

Well...

There's quite a few comments already which say "ask the soldier what they want" but if you'd asked a soldier a few years ago if they'd like a camera mounted to their guns to see round corners, I'm sure they would have said "hell yeah!"

@Tom15 and Land Warrior generally

Sure, if someone had asked them if they wanted to see round corners, they'd say "hell yeah". Of course you can't hit sod all like that, but at least it's useful for seeing who's out there without risking yourself. A camera on a stick would actually have been more useful, but never mind.

The big problem is adding 15lbs to a soldier's pack. That was stupid. Unless the kit is a magic force field, no-one's going to want to add another 15lbs to a pack that's already at least 40lbs. It's difficult to believe that anyone would fail to notice that.